Tuesday Tip! What to do with those Leftover Strips, Part 1

Because you all have been so wonderful & patient with me missing the last two Tuesday Tips- the next two weeks are special ones! A quilt block tutorial on how to use those random leftover strips!

You know those strips you have leftover after finishing a project? Where the directions told you to cut a 2 1/2″ strip to subcut for only 5, 2 1/2″ squares? And you needed to do that for all five fabrics in the quilt? This is a great way to use those strips & thereby creating a “free” quilt top!

First start with pre-washed muslin as your foundation base. Cut this into either 7″ or 13″ squares. (I’ll explain why these measurements later):

Now take your first strip & lay it right side UP across the middle diagonal of the block. The strip should be long enough to cover both points. Note that this is the ONLY time you will place the strip right side UP:

Now take your next string & place it right side DOWN on top of the first strip, making sure the long edges of the strip match. Notice that the second strip is long enough to over the muslin:

Now sew that with a 1/4″ seam allowance and press open. Next you are going to lay a strip on the other side of the center strip:

Sew that strip down & this is what your block should look like:

Pick a side to continue building upon. I chose the “left” side:

Now what do you do if your strip is a little long, like this one:

Very easy! Just give the strip a little trim to make it the size you need! But don’t throw away that excess, you may be able to use it in the end:

Now continue along, adding strips to both sides of the block as shown in these photos:

And ta-da! You have a string block!

Here is a 13″ block complete:

And here is a block that uses strips at random. It may look odd here, but in a quilt full of these, it has a great scrappy look!

Thanks for this nice, quick tutorial. I’ve only seen the blocks that leave the base fabric down the center which requires some careful measuring. I wanted one that I could do quickly cuz my scraps are getting out of control! Now, this I can do!

Good Evening Robin, I love this idea of using scrap pieces of material. As I look around my sewing room I can see many pieces of material which I can use to make a block or two.Actually, I know someone who would love to receive a quilt made this way.Thank you so much. I do not want to miss your posts so I have become a new follower.Best Wishes to you,Daphne

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